Garnett said he won't waive no-trade clause

HOUSTON – The first half of the NBA season has been pretty drama free for the Clippers, but the looming NBA trade deadline could cause issues for the team as the prepare to challenge for the NBA title.

Saturday morning, a report from Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Spears reported that the Clippers and Celtics were discussing a deal to send Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan to Boston for Kevin Garnett. It's the second time this season a report has linked the Clippers to the 36-year old veteran.

During a media session Saturday morning, Garnett said he would not waive his no-trade clause.

"If it's up to me," Garnett said, "I will live and die green all day."

Both Paul and Griffin spoke highly of Garnett without saying the team should or shouldn't trade for him.

"The way he competes as a player, he's very, very serious as a competitor. His level of professionalism is off the charts,' Griffin said. "I've heard that every game he's an intense guy to be around, and that's tough to do. To play as many games as he's played, to still have that level of intensity every single game is tough to do.

"That's something I really admire."

Griffin said any trade would change team chemistry, something Clippers' players and coaches have touted all season.

With the trade deadline at noon on Feb. 21, the Clippers know that they'll hear their names mentioned in plenty of rumors.

"You can't keep it from getting in (to the locker room). Guys find out on their own; you hear stuff about yourself. It's just one of those things where it's a level of professionalism guys have," Griffin said. "You understand that it's a business, and you still have to go out and play. You don't want to put your teammates in a bad position because you're mentally not there."

Paul said he thinks the Clippers' locker room is capable of handling trade rumors.

"I think our locker room is mature enough to understand that comes with it," Paul said. "We don't have any rookies on our team. Guys understand the business of this league and how it goes. I don't think it'll affect anybody."

Griffin said he thinks the Clippers are already in a position to win a championship.

"I think we need to be better," he said. "But I think talent-wise, we have the talent to be a championship contender."

Still, Griffin said he understands that those opportunities don't come around often.

"Sometimes you kind of have to plant the seeds and let them grow and all that," he said. "But with the pieces we have, right know is the time to continually keep attacking and try make those moves to be a championship team."

Bledsoe missed a between-the-legs, 360-degree dunk for his first attempt, eventually scoring a 37 after tapping the ball off the backboard before making a reverse dunk.

Bledsoe knew the misses cost him.

"I've made that dunk plenty of times," Bledsoe said. "I just tried to dunk it too hard."

Bledsoe's second dunk, though, got the crowd into it. Bledsoe tossed the ball up, caught it and spun 180-degrees while making a two-handed windmill slam.

The second dunk scored a perfect 50.

"This is my first dunk contest," Bledsoe said. "To get a 50 in it is a great feeling."

"Hopefully, if that time presented itself, I'd think about," he said. "This has been a great experience for me, just being here this weekend. Most people don't get the opportunity to do this. It's a really good feeling."

Toronto's Terrance Ross won the contest, beating Utah's Jeremy Evans, the defending champ, in the finals.

HOLIDAY ENJOYING EXPERIENCE

Former UCLA star, Philadelphia guard Jrue Holiday is part of a group of seven first-time All-Stars, including six from the Eastern Conference.

Saturday, Holiday participated in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, making it into the finals, where he lost to Portland rookie Damian Lillard.

"I think the first round was straight adrenaline," Holiday said. "I was making the passes, I made the jump shot and the crowd got into it. It felt good."

Holiday knows the main event will be Sunday night, though.

"This was really fun," Holiday said. "But tomorrow is a totally different atmosphere. I have no clue what it's going to be like. I've seen the All-Star Game but never been it.

"I'm excited."

NOTES

As part of a new conference-versus-conference format, Chris Paul captained the Western Conference to a win over Dwyane Wade and the East. The West compiled 140 points throughout all the events. The East scored 125. ...Second-year Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving defeated San Antonio forward Matt Bonner in the finals of the Three-Point Contest. ...Miami forward Chris Bosh led a team to victory in the Shooting Stars Challenge to start the night. ...Commissioner David Stern said he didn't meet with Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson over All-Star weekend to discuss the Kings' plans on moving to Seattle. Stern said the Kings still had a chance of staying in Sacramento, but he doesn't have a vote." Stern also said he expects HGH testing to be in place by the start of the 2013-14 season. ...Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said he expects the 2015 All-Star Game to be played in either New York City or Brooklyn.